All That is Wicked: The 'Victorian Hannibal Lecter' and the Race to Decode the Criminal Mind

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'A master-class in bringing history to life, in all its creepy, twisted glory' - Karen Kilgariff, co-host of My Favorite Murder podcast

Rulloff was a brilliant yet utterly amoral murderer - some have called him a 'Victorian-era Hannibal Lecter' - whose crimes spanned decades, but by 1871 he was captured, chained in a cell - a psychopath holding court while curious 19th-century 'mindhunters' got to work.

From alienists (early psychiatrists who tried to analyse the source of his madness) to neurologists (who wanted to dissect his brain) to phrenologists (who analysed the bumps on his head to determine his character), each one thought he held the key to understanding the essential question: is evil born or made

Expanding on her hit podcast, Tenfold More Wicked, acclaimed crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson draws on hundreds of source materials and never-before-shared historical documents to present one of the first glimpses into the mind of a serial killer - a century before the term was coined - through the scientists whose work would come to influence criminal justice for decades to come.

Reviews

'Every true crime fan will be riveted by Kate's master story-telling of this unforgettable tale' - Paul Holes, author of Unmasked: Crime Scenes, Cold Cases and My Hunt for the Golden State Killer

'When it comes to captivating true-crime storytelling, Kate Winkler Dawson reigns supreme. All That Is Wicked is a master-class in bringing history to life, in all its creepy, twisted glory.' - Karen Kilgariff, co-host of My Favorite Murder and author of Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered

'A murderer with a legendary brain, a disparate group of experts clamoring to analyze him, and a fascinating look into the origins of psychological profiling ... Ceaselessly engaging, gorgeously researched, and-true crime fan or not-impossible to put down. Warning: read it with all the lights on.' - Karen Abbott, author of The Ghosts of Eden Park

'Dawson raises the intriguing question of what we should do with criminals who are also assets to society ... A true crime tour de force. ' - Katherine Ramsland, author of Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer

Author Bio

Kate Winkler Dawson is an associate professor in journalism at the University of Texas. A seasoned documentary producer, her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, WCBS News, ABC News Radio, 'PBS NewsHour' and 'Nightline'. She is the author Death in the Air, American Sherlock and All That is Wicked, and the host of Tenfold More Wicked, a historical true crime podcast on the Exactly Right network, now on its fourth series.